The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Thursday called on authorities in India to investigate a violent attack against two journalists while covering the Health Minister’s visit to the eastern state of Jharkhand and to ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable.
The reported attack took place on April 28, 2026, when Indian journalists Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni were assaulted while covering a media briefing by Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari.
According to a complaint filed by the reporters, a crowd of approximately 50 individuals attacked them after they asked the minister about a deadly air ambulance crash in Chatra district that had occurred in February. In their complaint, Ashish Kumar said that people threw him to the crowd, where he was kicked and punched, resulting in several injuries to his whole body. Soni was also assaulted when attackers tried to seize his camera and other reporting equipment.
Both of the assaulted journalists alleged that the attack was intended to cause grievous physical harm to them and constituted attempted murder. Furthermore, Soni noted that the attack occurred in the presence of the health minister and police officers, who did not intervene. It’s the journalists’ colleagues who ultimately rescued them and took them to the hospital for treatment.
CPJ’s Asia-Pacific Program Coordinator, Kunal Majumder, said:
The assault on Ashish Kumar and Sushant Kumar Soni was not only an attack on two journalists carrying out their professional duties, but also a serious assault on press freedom in Jharkhand. It is deeply disturbing that the attack took place in the presence of Health Minister Irfan Ansari and police officers.
The committee further indicated that despite receiving the journalists’ complaint, police have not registered a First Information Report, which is a document that triggers a formal investigation, and continue to treat the incident as a preliminary enquiry, thereby preventing immediate arrests. Therefore, it urged local authorities to conduct an independent and effective investigation and to ensure that all those behind the assault are held accountable.
This is not the first time that CPJ has requested the release or protection of a journalist from Indian authorities, amid a global pattern of increasing attacks against reporters. In November 2025, CPJ called on Indian authorities to provide safety measures for an investigative journalist named Rana Ayyub after she had received threats from an unidentified caller. Additionally, in March 2026, a coalition of international organizations, including CPJ, called for the release of detained journalist Irfan Mehraj, who was arrested in 2023 on charges of conspiracy and terrorism financing.